avalanches
by mystiques
Summary: In some cases, life isn't about waiting for your soulmate. Sometimes, you have to choose your own path to stay with your loved one. / kristenkemp, for aly in the halloween exchange at coppertone wars / happy halloween! :)


**an**: so hey! here's to the amazing aly [five seconds of summer]! hope you like it! :)

**sum: **Sometimes, life isn't about waiting for your soulmate. Sometimes, you have to choose your own path to stay with your loved one. / kristenkemp, for aly in the halloween exchange at coppertone wars

**prompts**: cotton candy, mental illness, "remember me as i was, not as i am," and strawberries

**pairing**: kristen&kemp

* * *

Kristen giggles as she wiggles her eyebrows at the brown-haired boy in front of her. She has always wanted to go on a date with her long-time crush, and here she is, standing in the crowds of the annual Westchester Carnival. Her silky cream-colored dress flows behind her as the wind gushes to the east, and Kristen can't help but spin a little.

Kemp Hurley stands in front of her, walking backwards, and in his hands is the cotton candy Kristen had asked for a few minutes ago. Fluffy, pink, and looking like clouds, Kristen can't stand it, and her mouth waters a little at the sight of the sweet treat.

"Hand over the cotton candy, young man!" Kristen states, her lips quivering as she attempts to suppress her laughter.

Kemp simply chuckles and grabs a handful of the sweet food, and without caring about 'germs' or any of that crap, he shoves it in Kristen's face. Most of the fluffy pink stuff ends up on her skin, but a little of it lands in her mouth, disintegrating into tiny rocks of sugar.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but whatever." Kristen smiles at Kemp, who smiles back, and they sit on a bench, feeding each other the delicious cotton candy, not giving a thought on what others might think.

.

Kristen frowns as she looks over at Kemp. He was looking fine as usual...but something was missing. Was it is trademark smirk? Or possibly the fact that Kemp Hurley was sleeping on a bus, which he almost never ever ever _ever_ does?

"Kemp?" Kristen pokes her boyfriend out of curiosity, and he doesn't move. Instead, he simply rolls over, drool trickling down his face. "Ew!" Kristen giggles. Her face suddenly turns somewhat solemn, and she mutters softly, "Kemp, if you don't wake up, I'm gonna jump off this bus."

Kristen suddenly remembers how Kemp had told her once that he has a mysterious illness. A disease no one knows about, but he has it. And it would prevent him from living a long, old life, and he was sorry to say that. Kristen recalls Kemp leaning over and pecking her cheeks. He had said, "I might even die." That was what scared Kristen the most, and now she's afraid that this has happened.

Kristen knows what she said was childish and stupid, and that she was acting like an idiot, but don't we all? Especially when one we love is just lying there, looking as dead as a piece of wood, and that one person is the exact same being who drived you to live happily your entire life? And if they died, would you not want to be with them forever?

But Kristen loves Kemp, not as a crush, or a boyfriend, but more than that. Just like those romance-suckers in chick films and fluffy books, and exactly like love-sick women. But Kristen's heart loves Kemp because _he_ was the one who had comforted her when she had been teased about apparently having a mental illness. _He_ was the one who had held her hand in scary movies, on rollercoasters, and just about anytime she was frightened. _He_ was the one who persuaded her to love her life the way it is.

So when Kemp makes the slightest of a movement—just a teensy roll from one part of his back to the other—Kristen panics. She doesn't want him to open his mouth and get mad at her for mentioning suicide.

"I was just kidding, and you knew that. Right?" Kristen shakes the boy beside her in desperation. "Kemp, answer me!"

.

No, just—no. If Kemp is to die now, Kristen will do whatever it takes to be with him. They're both only 17, and Kristen refuses to live the rest of her life alone, without a single soul to guide her through troubled times. Kemp is her savior, her heart, and the love of her life. She's desperately in love, and she needs him to be with her.

Kristen's not a little girl anymore, and she understands about suicide, and it's consequences. But she doesn't _care_ what others think. So be it that the experts say committing suicide is bad. Who cares? They aren't Kristen. Kristen is herself, and she wants to live her life. Not a sad life, but one full of happiness, joy, and peace.

And that could be only completed with Kemp Hurley by her side.

.

She cries out in frustration. "Kemp. I am _so_ eating all the strawberries if you don't wake up. Come on, roll over and tell me to shut up. _Do it_." Kemp doesn't stir, and Kristen sighs. She checks his heart to see if it's beating.

_Thump ... Thump ... Thump ... Thump a thump ... Thump ... _

His heart beat is uneven. A tear falls down Kristen's cheek. What could have happened to Kemp? Why does it have to end this way? Why can't God—or Allah—or whoever is the creator of all beings—just come down and fucking _heal_ Kemp so that she could be happy?

Why—just, why? Why let her suffer in pain—in agony?

.

She has to pretend nothing is wrong. Kristen needs to act as if everything is all right, then get them both off the stupid bus. She could take him home, or to the hospital. But where to?

She does not know what's wrong with him, and although Kristen is no doctor, she can tell when someone is in need of serious medical help. She doesn't want Kemp to die—at least not now, when he hasn't even completed high school yet—and she loves him, and she needs him.

And then her gut and her heart combine and decide it for her.

_We're going home, Kemp. Together. _

.

Kristen drags Kemp slowly towards her apartment, ignoring the scoffing looks many people shoot at her. It's what Kemp taught her to do. She knows it looks weird, and she knows it's awkward. She knows this, but she doesn't care at all.

Somehow, Kristen manages to drop Kemp on her bed, scribble a note to her mother, and lie down with Kemp. She feels kind of bad for dropping Kemp a few times, but it's not her fault that he was not responding to her screams, shouts, whispers, pokes, and prods. Is it her fault?

"Remember me as I was, not as I am," Kristen whispers in his ear. "Remember me as the dorky girl who excelled in all subjects. The girl who dressed different—the girl who didn't care what the others thought about her. The girl who loved you, and the girl who still needs and wants your guidance. Remember me as the nerd, the jock, and the dork."

.

They say all lovers are reunited forever, whether by marriage or death, or maybe even working together, or just, you know—living together. But sometimes, one has to make a sacrifice for this to happen. A sacrifice that is just a flat-out stupid decision. One that most wouldn't dare choose, but some who are daring and madly in love may choose it.

This is the path Kristen Gregory chose.

* * *

**an:** this pretty much sucks. it's the second version of this fic, and the first may or may not be published. i swear, this sucks balls and the first one is even sadder, so yeah.

anyway, i hope you enjoyed this, aly!

please don't favorite [or alert] without leaving any reviews!

before i forget...** H**A**P**P**Y** H**A**L**L**O**W**E**E**N**!**

xx jo


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